Knitting machine



May 6 192 4. 1,492,557

J. J. EGAN ET AL KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 13. 1923 2 sheets-sheet 1 I INVENTORS film; J7 Egan Eujena 2650? ATTORNEY May 6, 1924.. 1,492,557

J. J. EGAN ET AL KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 15, 192.3 2 Sheets-Sheet z N INVENTORS J. E an ATTOR EY l atented May 6 1924.

UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. EGAN AND EUGENE GREGOR, OF NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO MCCALLUM HOSIERY COMPANY, OF

' IPOBATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR- xnrrcrme MACHINE.

Application filed July 13,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN J EGAN and EUGENE Gnnoon, citizens of the United States of America, residing at Northampton,

Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Knitting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture of stockings, particularly those made of silk and intended for 10 womens wear, variations in design are much sought for. In some instances distinctive designs are obtained by embroidery upon the fabric of the stocking; but for economy of manufacture it is desirable oftentimes to procure a distinctive designby variations in the knitting. With this end in view, stockings are often made upon machines of the jacquard type by means of which elaborate lace designs may be obtained.

The type. of stocking most favorably regarded by the woman purchaser is that known as full-fashioned, which is made by knitting a web of a given width for the greater portion of its length, and then narrowing the web as it approaches the ankle, the edges of the web being brought together and stitched to form the stocking. Such stockings are made upon what is known as a straight knitting machine, and the narrowing of the web is effected with the aid of lace points which are brought into action about every six or eight courses, and which pick up the loops at the edge of the web and carry them inwardly a distance of two needles, depositing the loops upon the needles to which they are then opposed, leaving the two outside needles from which the loops have been removed without any loops and hence out of opera tion during the remainder of the knitting of the web.

A vertical stripe effect in stockings is a desirable design, which may be obtained by supplying reinforcing threads to certain needles; or by what is known as a drop stitch, which gives a rather wide open space between the knitted stripe; or by omitting 1923. Serial No.'651,238.

needles at stated intervals, so that the thread simply passes across the space where the needle would be and no loops are formed at that point, which leaves a narrow space between the knitted stripes, as shown in Figme 4, this latter being the type of stocking to which the present invention is particularly applicable.

For years past it has been known that narrowing has been effected two needles at a time, it has always resulted that loops would be delivered at points where there were no needles to receive them, producing .drop stitches and causing runs in the fabric.

According to the present invention it is possible tocarry the striping formed by leaving needles out all the way tothe edge of the web, thus making a stocking having uniform stripes throughout, this being accomplished by the provision of additional means for actuating the lace points which transfer the loops so as to carry an entire set of loops between two needle out points across the inner needle outpoint, depositing those loops upon the needles knitting the next set of wales making up a complete stripe.

In order that our invention may be more fully understood, we have illustrated an embodiment of the same in the accompanying drawings, which show how our invention may be applied to an existing straight-knitting machine of the ordinary well-known type. i

In these drawings, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts in all views:

Figure 1 is an end view of a straight knitting machine, partly in section, showing the parts essential to an understanding of the invention;

Figure 2 shows the same parts as Figure 1 in another position which they assume with relation to each other during operation of the machine;

Figure 3 is a partial front View of the same machine illustrating the mechanism embodying our invention; and

.Figure 4c is a detail of the part of the web of a stocking where the narrowing is commenced, illustrating the effect obtained by the use of our invention.

Referring to these drawings, 1 designates the frame of the machine, upon which is mounted for operation in the usual manner a needle'bar 2 and needles 3, the needles being arranged as shown with every fourth needle out, for the purpose of producing'a fabric having regular vertical stripes as indicated in Figure 4, thisfabric being taken simply as anexample of one of the results to be accomplished by the use of this invention.

A number of lace points 4 are mounted in the usual manner to be used when nar rowing the fabric upon a rod 5 which is adapted to be moved longitudinally across the machine by means of a feed screw 6 upon which is mounted a traveling nut 7 having a portion 8 connected with the rod 5 to cause the rod 5 to travel with the nut 7.

The feed screw 6 has a ratchet wheel 9 fixed to its end, having a pawl 10 associated therewith and mounted upon a lever 11 pivoted upon the shaft carrying the feed screw 6, said lever 11 being operated by a link 12 from the cam-operated lever 13 which is pivoted to the said link 12 at 14, and to the frame of the machine at 15. The lever 11 carries a wheel 16 for contact with the actuating cam 17 on the shaft 18, being actuated when the shaft 18 is shogged to bring the cam 17 into alignment with the wheel 16, as shOWn by dot-and-dash lines .in'Figure 3.

Also mounted upon theshaft carrying the feed screw 6 is a notched wheel 19, and

associated therewith a hammer 20 actuated by a spring 21 to enga e the appropriate notch of the wheel 19 and thus hold the feed screw exactly in the required position while the lace points are acting to pick the stitches off the needles and return them thereto. The usual spring 22 may be attached to a portion 8 of the traveling nut 7 to take up lost motion and further ensure the exact positioning of the lace points 4.

In the-ordinary straight knitting machine having narrowing mechanism, the shaft 18 is provided with a cam 23 designed to lift the lever 18 an amount sufiicientto cause the link 12 to actuate the pawl 10 so as to to rotate the feed screw an amount measured by four notches of the ratchet wheel, thus causin the lace oints 4 to travel over a space of four needles, the result being that the lace points that pick up the loops from one group of three needles, carry those loops past the space where the needle is out, and deposit them upon the next group of three needles.

By means of this construction it is possible'to narrow afabric made upon a machine having needles out at regular inter vals, without causing drop stitches, and without requiring the use of jacquard mechanism, or other complicated means for tying in the stitches.

Although we have illustrated a machine in which the stocking web is made upon needles where every fourth needle is out, it is obvious that the position of the needles out may be varied, the point to the invention being that mechanism is provided whereby the lace points may be causedto travel a distance equal to the number of needles of a group, plus the needle out, so that after the lace points have picked up the threads from the needles, when they again deposit the threads upon the needles they will deposit them upon needles that are in operation, and not at the points where there are needles out, as happened when it was attempted to make this type of stock-' 'ing upon machines as heretofore known,

except by the use of jacquard or other complicated mechanism.

Having now described our invention, we claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent:

I 1. In a straight knitting machine the combination comprising a needle bar and needles, needles being left out at deter mined points, lace points, and means for actuating said lace points to transfer loops from a group of needles past the point hav needles, the needles being arranged in notches corresponding with the number of groups with needles omitted at determined needles of a group plus one, as and for points, lace points, a feed screw to effect the purposes set forth. 10 movement of the lace points, a ratchet wheel In testimony whereof we have signed our mounted thereon, a pawl, a lever arranged names to this specification.

to actuate said pawl, and a cam to actuate JOHN J. EGAN.

said lever to move said ratchet a number of EUGENE GREGOR. 

